Norristown man admits to role in Collegeville Inn burglary

COURTHOUSE — A Norristown man has admitted to his role in a break-in at the Collegeville Inn property, which authorities alleged was burglarized for the purpose of obtaining copper piping.

Gerald V. Salvo Jr., 42, of the 1200 block of Swede Street, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to nine-to-23 months in the county jail after he pleaded guilty to felony charges of burglary and conspiracy to commit burglary in connection with the December 2012 break-in at the unoccupied inn located in the 4000 block of Ridge Pike.

Judge Wendy Demchick-Alloy also ordered Salvo to complete two years’ probation after he’s paroled from jail and 12 hours of community service.

With the guilty plea, Salvo admitted he conspired with Kenneth Holmes, 43, to carry out the burglary. Holmes, of the 3800 block of Germantown Pike, Lower Providence, is still awaiting court action on similar burglary-related charges, according to court records.

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An investigation of the men began about 9:30 a.m. Dec. 28, 2012, when Lower Providence police on routine patrol observed that a rear door to the inn was propped open, according to an arrest affidavit. Police remained in the area to maintain surveillance and at 10:55 a.m. observed a maroon Ford Expedition pull into the parking lot and park in front of the door that had been propped open.

“Two male subjects exited the vehicle and opened the door to enter the building. I observed both male subjects to be removing copper piping from the building and loading into the Ford Expedition,” Lower Providence Police Officer Jeremy S. Bonner alleged in the criminal complaint.

Knowing that the men did not have permission to enter the property, an officer approached the men on foot and confronted them, court papers indicate. Both men ignored police verbal commands, returned to the Ford Expedition and fled the area, traveling westbound on Ridge Pike, according to the arrest affidavit.

A vehicle pursuit ensued, according to the criminal complaint.

“During the course of the pursuit the male subject in the front passenger seat of the car jumped out and fled on foot from the area,” Bonner alleged, adding the man, subsequently identified as Salvo, was apprehended by responding officers.

The Ford Expedition, allegedly operated by Holmes, continued on and traveled at unsafe speeds, failed to stop at red traffic signals and overtook vehicles on the wrong side of the roadway, according to the arrest affidavit. During the pursuit, Holmes traveled through Lower Providence, Collegeville, Upper Providence and Upper Merion and even entered Valley Forge National Historical Park, police alleged.

The pursuit ultimately ended at a dead end near South Trooper Road in Upper Merion and Holmes fled on foot, police alleged.

“He jumped into the Schuylkill River to avoid capture but swam back to officers where he was taken into custody…,” Bonner alleged in the criminal complaint.